Every road trip tells a story.
Samatra and I recently booked a nine-day stay at a campground just three blocks outside Yellowstone National Park. Knowing weâd be driving from Southern California, we mapped out stops along the way, Zion National Park, then Idaho Falls, so the trip would be paced rather than punishing. Anyone whoâs done long drives knows the rhythm: pit stops to stretch your legs, fuel up, or grab food.
At one of those food stops, I found myself watching the clock, gesturing for us to finish eating so we could get back on the road. Samatra looked at me and simply said, âIâm in no rush.â
She was right. We had no deadline pressing us. We werenât late. The road would be waiting. Why was I so anxious to leave when the moment right in front of us was worth savoring?
That thought has lingered with me.
The Destination vs. The Journey
When we drive, itâs easy to think the destination is what matters most. Yellowstone was the goal, and every mile seemed to exist only to get us there. But if we hurry too much, we miss the beauty of Zionâs cliffs, the calm rivers in Idaho, even the quiet rest stops where laughter over a meal becomes its own memory.
Marriage has its own version of this. Many of us long for oneness, that deep connection where two truly live as one flesh. Scripture tells us, âTherefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one fleshâ (Genesis 2:24 ESV). But if we only measure success by how quickly we âarriveâ at that oneness, weâll likely grow frustrated, angry, or disappointed that weâre not where we thought weâd be.
The Pit Stops Matter
Every pit stop on our trip wasnât wasted time, it was part of the journey. In the same way, small moments in marriage are not detours. Theyâre sacred pauses that grow intimacy: shared meals, long conversations, even the silly arguments that teach us patience and grace.
Hurrying past those moments in search of a perfect marriage robs us of the very process God uses to shape oneness. As Ecclesiastes reminds us, âFor everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heavenâ (Ecclesiastes 3:1 ESV).
No Rush
What if the point isnât to rush toward oneness but to enjoy the journey God has us on? What if each âstopâ, both the joyful and the frustrating, is forming something deeper than we realize?
On that road trip, Samatraâs simple words shifted my perspective. In marriage, too, perhaps we need to hear it again: âIâm in no rush.â
Because maybe the beauty isnât just at the destination. Maybe itâs found in every mile along the way.
âŚjust a thought.
When was the last time you slowed down enough to notice the beauty in your marriage journey, not just where youâre trying to get?
